Chapter XXV: Front Matter (25)

Economy - overview:
Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most of
sub-Saharan African nations. This has supported a sharp decline in
extreme poverty; yet, because of high income inequality, a large
proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber
and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s.
The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face
fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports.
Despite the abundance of natural wealth, poor fiscal management
hobbles the economy. Devaluation of its currency by 50% in January
1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped
to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in
1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near
commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119
million in October 2000. Those agreements mandated progress in
privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional
financial support in January 1997 after Gabon met IMF targets for
mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government
for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central
bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and
administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped
growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing
potential gains. In December 2000, Gabon signed a new agreement with
the Paris Club to reschedule its official debt. A follow-up
bilateral repayment agreement with the US was signed in December
2001. Gabon signed a 14-month Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF in
May 2004, and received Paris Club debt rescheduling later that year.
Short-term progress depends on an upbeat world economy and fiscal
and other adjustments in line with IMF policies.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$10.21 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$7.052 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.8% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$7,200 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 5.9%
industry: 59.7%
services: 34.4% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
581,000 (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 60%
industry: 15%
services: 25%

Unemployment rate:
21% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.2% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
22.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $3.1 billion
expenditures: $2.181 billion; including capital expenditures of $325
million (2006 est.)

Public debt:
28.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical
softwood); fish

Industries:
petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship
repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement

Industrial production growth rate:
1.6% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
1.543 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 34.5%
hydro: 65.5%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
1.435 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
268,900 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
13,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
1.827 billion bbl (2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:
100 million cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
100 million cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
33.98 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance:
$1.807 billion (2006 est.)

Exports:
$6.677 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
crude oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001)

Exports - partners:
US 52.6%, France 6.3%, China 6.2% (2005)

Imports:
$1.607 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction
materials

Imports - partners:
France 40.5%, US 6.4%, Cameroon 4.2% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$835 million (2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$3.971 billion (2006 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$331 million (1995)

Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible
authority is the Bank of the Central African States

Currency code:
XAF

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar -
522.592 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99
(2002)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Gabon

Telephones - main lines in use:
39,100 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
649,800 (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate service by African standards and
improving with the help of the growing mobile cell system
domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay,
tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a
domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations
international: country code - 241; satellite earth stations - 3
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC)
provides connectivity to Europe and Asia

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001)

Radios:
208,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
4 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001)

Televisions:
63,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.ga

Internet hosts:
322 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2001)

Internet users:
67,000 (2005)

Transportation Gabon

Airports:
56 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 23 (2006)

Pipelines:
gas 272 km; oil 1,354 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 814 km
standard gauge: 814 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)

Roadways:
total: 9,170 km
paved: 937 km
unpaved: 8,233 km (2004)

Waterways:
1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2005)

Merchant marine:
registered in other countries: 2 (Cambodia 1, Panama 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Gamba, Libreville, Lucinda, Owendo, Port-Gentil

Military Gabon

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 278,826
females age 18-49: 279,865 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 159,198
females age 18-49: 156,122 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 15,325
females age 18-49: 15,367 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$253.5 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.4% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Gabon

Disputes - international:
UN presses Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty
dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and to establish a maritime
boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay; only a few hundred out of
the 20,000 Republic of the Congo refugees who fled militia fighting
in 2000 remain in Gabon

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 7,298 (Republic of Congo) (2006)

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

======================================================================

@Gambia, The

Introduction Gambia, The

Background:
The Gambia gained its independence from the UK in 1965.
Geographically surrounded by Senegal, it formed a short-lived
federation of Senegambia between 1982 and 1989. In 1991 the two
nations signed a friendship and cooperation treaty, but tensions
have flared up intermittently since then. Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH led
a military coup in 1994 that overthrew the president and banned
political activity. A new constitution and presidential elections in
1996, followed by parliamentary balloting in 1997, completed a
nominal return to civilian rule. JAMMEH has been elected president
in all subsequent elections, including most recently in late 2006.

Geography Gambia, The

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal

Geographic coordinates:
13 28 N, 16 34 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 11,300 sq km
land: 10,000 sq km
water: 1,300 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Delaware

Land boundaries:
total: 740 km
border countries: Senegal 740 km

Coastline:
80 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: not specified

Climate:
tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season
(November to May)

Terrain:
flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 53 m

Natural resources:
fish, titanium (rutile and ilmenite), tin, zircon, silica sand,
clay, petroleum

Land use:
arable land: 27.88%
permanent crops: 0.44%
other: 71.68% (2005)

Irrigated land:
20 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years)

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases prevalent

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on the continent of
Africa

People Gambia, The

Population:
1,641,564 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.3% (male 365,157/female 361,821)
15-64 years: 53% (male 431,627/female 438,159)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 22,889/female 21,911) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 17.7 years
male: 17.6 years
female: 17.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.84% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
39.37 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
1.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 71.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 78.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 64.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 54.14 years
male: 52.3 years
female: 56.03 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.3 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
6,800 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
600 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, Crimean-Congo
hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever are high risks in some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)

Nationality:
noun: Gambian(s)
adjective: Gambian

Ethnic groups:
African 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola 10%, Serahuli
9%, other 4%), non-African 1%

Religions:
Muslim 90%, Christian 9%, indigenous beliefs 1%

Languages:
English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous
vernaculars

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.1%
male: 47.8%
female: 32.8% (2003 est.)

Government Gambia, The

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of The Gambia
conventional short form: The Gambia

Government type:
republic

Capital:
name: Banjul
geographic coordinates: 12 28 N, 16 39 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
5 divisions and 1 city*; Banjul*, Central River, Lower River, North
Bank, Upper River, Western

Independence:
18 February 1965 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 18 February (1965)

Constitution:
24 April 1970; suspended July 1994; rewritten and approved by
national referendum 8 August 1996; reestablished January 1997

Legal system:
based on a composite of English common law, Koranic law, and
customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since 18 October
1996); note - from 1994 to 1996 he was chairman of the Junta); Vice
President Isatou NJIE-SAIDY (since 20 March 1997); note - the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since 18
October 1996); note - from 1994 to 1996 he was chairman of the
Junta); Vice President Isatou NJIE-SAIDY (since 20 March 1997)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
(no term limits); election last held 22 September 2006 (next to be
held in 2011)
election results: Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH reelected president; percent
of vote - Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH 67.3%, Ousainou DARBOE 26.6%, Halifa
SALLAH 6.0%

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (53 seats; 48 elected by popular vote,
5 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 17 January 2002 (next to be held 25 January
2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
APRC 45, PDOIS 2, NRP 1,

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction or APRC
[Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH] (the ruling party); Gambia People's
Democratic Party or GPDP [Henry GOMEZ]; National Alliance for
Democracy and Development or NADD [Halifa SALLAH]; National
Convention Party or NCP [Sheriff DIBBA]; National Reconciliation
Party or NRP [Hamat N. K. BAH]; People's Democratic Organization for
Independence and Socialism or PDOIS [Sidia JATTA]; United Democratic
Party or UDP [Ousainou DARBOE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU,
ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL,
UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Dodou Bammy JAGNE
chancery: Suite 905, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 785-1379
FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph D. STAFFORD, III
embassy: Kairaba Avenue, Fajara, Banjul
mailing address: P. M. B. No. 19, Banjul
telephone: [220] 439-2856, 437-6169, 437-6170
FAX: [220] 439-2475

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with white edges,
and green

Economy Gambia, The

Economy - overview:
The Gambia has no confirmed mineral or natural resource deposits
and has a limited agricultural base. About 75% of the population
depends on crops and livestock for its livelihood. Small-scale
manufacturing activity features the processing of peanuts, fish, and
hides. Reexport trade normally constitutes a major segment of
economic activity, but a 1999 government-imposed preshipment
inspection plan, and instability of the Gambian dalasi (currency)
have drawn some of the reexport trade away from The Gambia. The
Gambia's natural beauty and proximity to Europe has made it one of
the larger markets for tourism in West Africa. The government's 1998
seizure of the private peanut firm Alimenta eliminated the largest
purchaser of Gambian groundnuts. Despite an announced program to
begin privatizing key parastatals, no plans have been made public
that would indicate that the government intends to follow through on
its promises. Unemployment and underemployment rates remain
extremely high; short-run economic progress depends on sustained
bilateral and multilateral aid, on responsible government economic
management, on continued technical assistance from the IMF and
bilateral donors, and on expected growth in the construction sector.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$3.25 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$461.2 million (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,000 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 30.5%
industry: 13.9%
services: 55.6% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
400,000 (1996)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 75%
industry: 19%
services: 6%

Unemployment rate:
NA%

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
14% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
20.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $112.7 million
expenditures: $155.1 million; including capital expenditures of $4.1
million (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rice, millet, sorghum, peanuts, corn, sesame, cassava (tapioca),
palm kernels; cattle, sheep, goats

Industries:
processing peanuts, fish, and hides; tourism, beverages,
agricultural machinery assembly, woodworking, metalworking, clothing

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
145 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
134.9 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Current account balance:
$-54.61 million (2006 est.)

Exports:
$130.5 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels, re-exports

Exports - partners:
India 29.6%, Kenya 28.4%, UK 13.3%, Indonesia 6.1% (2005)

Imports:
$212.2 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, manufactures, fuel, machinery and transport equipment

Imports - partners:
China 21.5%, Senegal 11.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.5%, Brazil 5.6%, US
5.3%, UK 5.2%, Netherlands 4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$88.11 million (2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$628.8 million (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$59.8 million (2003)

Currency (code):
dalasi (GMD)

Currency code:
GMD

Exchange rates:
dalasi per US dollar - 30 (2006), 30.38 (2005), 30.03 (2004),
27.306 (2004), 19.918 (2003), 15.687 (2002), 15.687 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Gambia, The

Telephones - main lines in use:
44,000 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
247,500 (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate; a packet switched data network is
available
domestic: adequate network of microwave radio relay and open-wire
international: country code - 220; microwave radio relay links to
Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001)

Radios:
196,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (government-owned) (1997)

Televisions:
5,000 (2000)

Internet country code:
.gm

Internet hosts:
14 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2001)

Internet users:
49,000 (2005)

Transportation Gambia, The

Airports:
1 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 3,742 km
paved: 723 km
unpaved: 3,019 km (2004)

Waterways:
390 km (on River Gambia; small ocean-going vessels can reach 190
km) (2004)

Merchant marine:
total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 32,064 GRT/9,751 DWT
by type: passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 1 (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Banjul

Military Gambia, The

Military branches:
Gambian National Army (GNA), Gambian Navy (GN), Presidential Guard,
National Guard

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription
(2001)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 311,025
females age 18-49: 316,214 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 183,057
females age 18-49: 194,551 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$1.55 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.4% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Gambia, The

Disputes - international:
attempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and
other illegal activities by separatists from southern Senegal's
Casamance region, as well as from conflicts in other west African
states

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 5,955 (Sierra Leone) (2006)

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

======================================================================

@Gaza Strip

Background:
The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington in September 1993,
provided for a transitional period of Palestinian interim
self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A transfer of
authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Gaza Strip and
Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo
Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and, in additional
areas of the West Bank, pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995
Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol
Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998
Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh
Agreement. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of
Gaza and the West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year
hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out a
year later. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia)
presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005
based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states,
Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent
status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and
accusations that both sides have not followed through on their
commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in
late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A
month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh
Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In
September 2005, Israel withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and
dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four
northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls
maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November
2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah
border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and
Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement,
HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The
international community has refused to accept the HAMAS-led
government because it does not recognize Israel, will not renounce
violence, and refuses to honor previous peace agreements between
Israel and the PA. Since March 2006, President Abbas has had little
success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform
acceptable to the international community so as to lift the economic
siege on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene in late 2006 as
a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and
Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members.

Geography Gaza Strip

Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and
Israel

Geographic coordinates:
31 25 N, 34 20 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 360 sq km
land: 360 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
total: 62 km
border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

Coastline:
40 km

Maritime claims:
Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be
determined through further negotiation

Climate:
temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Terrain:
flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m

Natural resources:
arable land, natural gas

Land use:
arable land: 29%
permanent crops: 21%
other: 50% (2002)

Irrigated land:
150 sq km; note - includes West Bank (2003)

Natural hazards:
droughts

Environment - current issues:
desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment;
water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination
of underground water resources

Geography - note:
strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes
has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of Gaza
itself has been besieged countless times in its history

People Gaza Strip

Population:
1,428,757 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 48.1% (male 351,642/female 335,060)
15-64 years: 49.4% (male 360,147/female 345,318)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 15,231/female 21,359) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 15.8 years
male: 15.7 years
female: 16 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
3.71% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
39.45 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
3.8 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
1.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 22.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.48 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 21.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.97 years
male: 70.67 years
female: 73.34 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.78 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: NA
adjective: NA

Ethnic groups:
Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

Religions:
Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%

Languages:
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely
understood)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9%
male: 96.3%
female: 87.4% (2003 est.)

Government Gaza Strip

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gaza Strip
local long form: none
local short form: Qita Ghazzah

Economy Gaza Strip

Economy - overview:
High population density, limited land access, and strict internal
and external security controls have kept economic conditions in the
Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian
Authority (PA)- even more degraded than in the West Bank. The
beginning of the second intifadah in September 2000 sparked an
economic downturn, largely the result of Israeli closure policies;
these policies, which were imposed to address security concerns in
Israel, disrupted labor and trade access to and from the Gaza Strip.
In 2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures
in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption
of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. The
Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September 2005 offered
some medium-term opportunities for economic growth, which have not
yet been realized due to Israeli military activities in the Gaza
Strip in 2006, continued crossings closures, and the international
community's financial embargo of the PA after HAMAS took office in
March 2006.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$5.327 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

GDP - real growth rate:
4.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,500 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 8%
industry: 18.2%
services: 73.9% (includes West Bank) (2005 est.)

Labor force:
259,000 (2005)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 12%
industry: 18%
services: 70% (2005)

Unemployment rate:
31% (includes West Bank) (January-September 2005 avg.)

Population below poverty line:
81% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.2% (includes West Bank) (2005)

Budget:
revenues: $1.23 billion
expenditures: $1.64 billion; including capital expenditures of $44
million; note - these budget data include West Bank (2005)

Agriculture - products:
olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Industries:
generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap,
olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis
have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial
center, but operations ceased prior to Israel's evacuation of Gaza
Strip settlements

Industrial production growth rate:
2.4%

Electricity - production:
140,000 kWh

Electricity - consumption:
230,000 kWh

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh

Electricity - imports:
90,000 kWh; note - from Israeli Electric Company (2005)

Exports:
$313 million f.o.b.; note - includes West Bank (2004)

Exports - commodities:
citrus, flowers, textiles

Exports - partners:
Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Imports:
$1.37 billion c.i.f.; note - includes West Bank (2004)

Imports - commodities:
food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners:
Israel, Egypt, West Bank (2004)

Debt - external:
NA (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
$1.14 billion; note - includes West Bank (2004 est.)

Currency (code):
new Israeli shekel (ILS)

Currency code:
ILS

Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004),
4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Gaza Strip

Telephones - main lines in use:
349,000 (includes West Bank) (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.095 million (includes West Bank) (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL
are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the
Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services
international: country code - 970

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 8, shortwave 0 (2005)

Radios:
NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2005)

Televisions:
NA; note - most Palestinian households have televisions (1997)

Internet country code:
.ps

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (1999)

Internet users:
243,000 (includes West Bank) (2005)

Transportation Gaza Strip

Airports:
2
note: includes Gaza International Airport closed since its runway
was destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces in December 2001 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Heliports:
1 (2006)

Roadways:
note: see entry for West Bank

Ports and terminals:
Gaza

Military Gaza Strip

Military branches:
in accordance with the peace agreement, the Palestinian Authority
is not permitted conventional military forces; there are, however,
public security forces (2002)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 260,855 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 221,530 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 15,196 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Gaza Strip

Disputes - international:
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status
subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent
status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel removed
settlers and military personnel from the Gaza Strip in August 2005

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 993,818 (Palestinian Refugees
(UNRWA)) (2006)

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

======================================================================

@Georgia

Introduction Georgia

Background:
The region of present-day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of
Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in
the first centuries A.D. and Christianity became the state religion
in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed
by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by
the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian
empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed
into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three
years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly
incorporated into the USSR until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.
An attempt by the incumbent Georgian government to manipulate
national legislative elections in November 2003 touched off
widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard
SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. New elections in early 2004
swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his National
Movement Party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has
been made in the years since independence, but this progress has
been complicated by two civil conflicts in the breakaway regions of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These two territories remain outside the
control of the central government and are ruled by de facto,
unrecognized governments, supported by Russia. Russian-led
peacekeeping operations continue in both regions. The Georgian
Government put forward a new peace initiative for the peaceful
resolution of the status of South Ossetia in 2005.

Geography Georgia

Location:
Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and
Russia

Geographic coordinates:
42 00 N, 43 30 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 69,700 sq km
land: 69,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries:
total: 1,461 km
border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km,
Turkey 252 km

Coastline:
310 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast

Terrain:
largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and
Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida
Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in
the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of
Kolkhida Lowland

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Mt'a Shkhara 5,201 m

Natural resources:
forests, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor
coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important
tea and citrus growth

Land use:
arable land: 11.51%
permanent crops: 3.79%
other: 84.7% (2005)

Irrigated land:
4,690 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
earthquakes

Environment - current issues:
air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari
River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil
pollution from toxic chemicals

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
strategically located east of the Black Sea; Georgia controls much
of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them

People Georgia

Population:
4,661,473 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 428,056/female 380,193)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 1,482,908/female 1,602,064)
65 years and over: 16.5% (male 308,905/female 459,347) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 37.7 years
male: 35.3 years
female: 40.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.34% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
10.41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
9.23 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
-4.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.15 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 17.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 15.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.09 years
male: 72.8 years
female: 79.87 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.42 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
3,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Georgian(s)
adjective: Georgian

Ethnic groups:
Georgian 83.8%, Azeri 6.5%, Armenian 5.7%, Russian 1.5%, other 2.5%
(2002 census)

Religions:
Orthodox Christian 83.9%, Muslim 9.9%, Armenian-Gregorian 3.9%,
Catholic 0.8%, other 0.8%, none 0.7% (2002 census)

Languages:
Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100% (2004 est.)

Government Georgia

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Georgia
local long form: none
local short form: Sak'art'velo
former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type:
republic

Capital:
name: T'bilisi
geographic coordinates: 41 43 N, 44 49 E
time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
9 regions (mkharebi, singular - mkhare), 9 cities (k'alak'ebi,
singular - k'alak'i), and 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy
respubliki, singular - avtom respublika)
regions: Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti,
Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti,
Samtskhe-Javakheti, Shida Kartli
cities: Chiat'ura, Gori, K'ut'aisi, P'ot'i, Rust'avi, Tbilisi,
Tqibuli, Tsqaltubo, Zugdidi
autonomous republics: Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri
Respublika (Sokhumi), Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika
(Bat'umi)
note: the administrative centers of the two autonomous republics are
shown in parentheses

Independence:
9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 May (1918); note - 26 May 1918 is the date of
independence from Soviet Russia, 9 April 1991 is the date of
independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution:
adopted 24 August 1995

Legal system:
based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January
2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government for the power ministries: state security (includes
interior) and defense
head of government: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January
2004); Prime Minister Zurab NOGHAIDELI (since 17 February 2005);
note - the president is the chief of state and head of government
for the power ministries: state security (includes interior) and
defense; the prime minister is head of the remaining ministries of
government
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); election last held 4 January 2004
(next to be held in late 2008)
election results: Mikheil SAAKASHVILI elected president; percent of
vote - Mikheil SAAKASHVILI 96.3%, Temur SHASHIASHVILI 1.9%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Supreme Council (commonly referred to as Parliament) or
Umaghiesi Sabcho (235 seats - 150 elected by party lists); members
are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held spring 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - National
Movement-Democratic Front 67.6%, Rightist Opposition 7.6%, all other
parties received less than 7% each; seats by party - National
Movement-Democratic Front 135, Rightist Opposition 15

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the
president's or chairman of the Supreme Court's recommendation);
Constitutional Court; first and second instance courts

Political parties and leaders:
Burjanadze-Democrats [Nino BURJANADZE]; Georgian People's Front
[Nodar NATADZE]; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG
[Panteleimon GIORGADZE]; Georgia's Way Party [Salome ZOURABICHVILI];
Greens [Giorgi GACHECHILADZE]; Industry Will Save Georgia
(Industrialists) or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; Labor Party [Shalva
NATELASHVILI]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Bachuki KARDAVA];
National Movement Democratic Front [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI] bloc
composed of National Movement and Burjanadze-Democrats; National
Movement [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI]; New Rights [David GAMKRELIDZE];
Republican Party [David USUPASHVILI]; Rightist Opposition [David
GAMKRELIDZE] bloc composed of Industrialists and New Right Party;
Socialist Party or SPG [Irakli MINDELI]; Traditionalists [Akaki
ASATIANI]; Union of National Forces-Conservatives [Koba DAVITASHVILI
and Zviad DZIDZIGURI]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Georgian independent deputies from Abkhaz government in exile;
separatists in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia

International organization participation:
ACCT (observer), BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS
(observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI (observer), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Vasil SIKHARULIDZE
chancery: 1101 15th Street NW, Suite 602, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 387-2390
FAX: [1] (202) 393-4537

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John F. TEFFT
embassy: 11 George Balanchine St., T'bilisi 0131
mailing address: 7060 T'bilisi Place, Washington, DC 20521-7060
telephone: [995] (32) 27-70-00
FAX: [995] (32) 53-23-10

Flag description:
white rectangle, in its central portion a red cross connecting all
four sides of the flag; in each of the four corners is a small red
bolnur-katskhuri cross; the five-cross flag appears to date back to
the 14th century

Economy Georgia

Economy - overview:
Georgia's main economic activities include the cultivation of
agricultural products such as grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts;
mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial
sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals,
machinery, and chemicals. The country imports the bulk of its energy
needs, including natural gas and oil products. It has sizeable but
underdeveloped hydropower capacity. Despite the severe damage the
economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of
the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic gains since
2000, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing inflation.
Georgia had suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues;
however, the new government is making progress and has reformed the
tax code, improved tax administration, increased tax enforcement,
and cracked down on corruption. In addition, the reinvigorated
privatization process has met with success, supplementing government
expenditures on infrastructure, defense, and poverty reduction.
Despite customs and financial (tax) enforcement improvements,
smuggling is a drain on the economy. Georgia also suffers from
energy shortages due to aging and badly maintained infrastructure,
as well as poor management. Due to concerted reform efforts,
collection rates have improved considerably to roughly 60%, both in
T'bilisi and throughout the regions. Continued reform in the
management of state-owned power entities is essential to successful
privatization and onward sustainability in this sector. The country
is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on its role as a transit
state for pipelines and trade. The construction on the
Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas
pipeline have brought much-needed investment and job opportunities.
Nevertheless, high energy prices have compounded the pressure on the
country's inefficient energy sector. Restructuring the sector and
finding energy supply alternatives to Russia remain major challenges.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$17.79 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$5.272 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
8.8% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,800 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 17.7%
industry: 27.5%
services: 54.8% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
2.04 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 40%
industry: 20%
services: 40% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
12.6% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
54% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 27.9% (1996)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
38 (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
30% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.726 billion
expenditures: $1.879 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables; livestock

Industries:
steel, aircraft, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining
(manganese and copper), chemicals, wood products, wine

Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2000)

Electricity - production:
6.804 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 19.7%
hydro: 80.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
8.528 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
200 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
2.4 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
1,981 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - consumption:
13,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production:
20 million cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
1.5 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
NA cu m

Natural gas - imports:
1.5 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Current account balance:
$-735 million (2006 est.)

Exports:
$1.761 billion (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
scrap metal, machinery, chemicals; fuel reexports; citrus fruits,
tea, wine

Exports - partners:
Russia 18.1%, Turkey 14.3%, Azerbaijan 9.8%, Turkmenistan 8.9%,
Bulgaria 5%, Armenia 4.7%, Ukraine 4.4%, Canada 4.2% (2005)

Imports:
$3.32 billion (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuels, machinery and parts, transport equipment, grain and other
foods, pharmaceuticals

Imports - partners:
Russia 15.4%, Turkey 11.4%, Azerbaijan 9.4%, Ukraine 8.8%, Germany
8.3%, US 6% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$492 million (2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$2.04 billion (2004)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA, $150 million (2000 est.)

Currency (code):
lari (GEL)

Currency code:
GEL

Exchange rates:
lari per US dollar - 1.79 (2006), 1.8127 (2005), 1.9167 (2004),
2.1457 (2003), 2.1957 (2002)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Georgia

Telephones - main lines in use:
683,200 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.459 million (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: local - T'bilisi, K'ut'aisi, and Batumi have cellular
telephone networks; urban telephone density is about 20 per 100
people; rural telephone density is about 4 per 100 people; intercity
facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and
K'ut'aisi; nationwide pager service is available
international: country code - 995; Georgia and Russia are working on
a fiber-optic line between P'ot'i and Sochi (Russia); present
international service is available by microwave, landline, and
satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail
and telex service are available

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios:
3.02 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
12 (plus repeaters) (1998)

Televisions:
2.57 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.ge

Internet hosts:
10,752 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (2000)

Internet users:
175,600 (2005)

Transportation Georgia

Airports:
23 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 19
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Heliports:
3 (2006)

Pipelines:
gas 1,349 km; oil 1,010 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 1,612 km
broad gauge: 1,575 km 1.520-m gauge (1,575 electrified)
narrow gauge: 37 km 0.912-m gauge (37 electrified) (2005)

Roadways:
total: 20,247 km
paved: 7,973 km
unpaved: 12,274 km (2004)

Merchant marine:
total: 222 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,059,386 GRT/1,538,746 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 27, cargo 176, container 4, liquefied gas 1,
passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated
cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 188 (Albania 1, Azerbaijan 2, Belgium 1, China 2,
Cyprus 1, Ecuador 1, Egypt 8, Germany 1, Greece 8, Indonesia 1,
South Korea 1, Lebanon 7, Monaco 13, Romania 11, Russia 28, Slovakia
1, Slovenia 1, Syria 43, Turkey 30, UAE 1, UK 4, Ukraine 22) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Bat'umi, P'ot'i

Transportation - note:
transportation network is in poor condition resulting from ethnic
conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages; network lacks
maintenance and repair

Military Georgia

Military branches:
Ground Forces (includes National Guard), Air and Air Defense
Forces, Navy (2006)

Military service age and obligation:
18 to 34 years of age for compulsory and voluntary active duty
military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2005)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 1,038,736
females age 18-49: 1,105,910 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 827,281
females age 18-49: 903,791 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 38,857
females age 18-49: 38,238 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$23 million (FY00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.59% (FY00)

Military - note:
a CIS peacekeeping force of Russian troops is deployed in the
Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN military observer
group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia

Transnational Issues Georgia

Disputes - international:
Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common border,
leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime boundary
unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the
Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia;
UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained a peacekeeping force
in Georgia since 1993; Meshkheti Turks scattered throughout the
former Soviet Union seek to return to Georgia; boundary with Armenia
remains undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of
Georgia seek greater autonomy from the Georgian government;
Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to discuss the alignment of their
boundary at certain crossing areas

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 220,000-240,000 (displaced from Abkhazia and South Ossetia)
(2006)

Illicit drugs:
limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for
domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates via
Central Asia to Western Europe and Russia

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

======================================================================

@Germany

Introduction Germany

Background:
As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation,
Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and
defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in
two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and
left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US,
UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the
Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal
Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic
(GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic
and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO,
while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led
Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War
allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has
expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages
up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU
countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.

Geography Germany

Location:
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between
the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark

Geographic coordinates:
51 00 N, 9 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km
water: 7,798 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries:
total: 3,621 km
border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646
km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577
km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km

Coastline:
2,389 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate:
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers;
occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind

Terrain:
lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m

Natural resources:
coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium,
potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 33.13%
permanent crops: 0.6%
other: 66.27% (2005)

Irrigated land:
4,850 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
flooding

Environment - current issues:
emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to
air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions,
is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and
industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste
disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of
nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU
commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the
EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance
to the Baltic Sea

People Germany

Population:
82,422,299 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.1% (male 5,973,437/female 5,665,971)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 27,889,936/female 26,874,858)
65 years and over: 19.4% (male 6,602,478/female 9,415,619) (2006
est.)

Median age:
total: 42.6 years
male: 41.3 years
female: 43.9 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.02% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
8.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
10.62 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.8 years
male: 75.81 years
female: 81.96 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
43,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 1,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: German(s)
adjective: German

Ethnic groups:
German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek,
Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)

Religions:
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or
other 28.3%

Languages:
German

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)

Government Germany

Country name:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
conventional short form: Germany
local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
local short form: Deutschland
former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich

Government type:
federal republic

Capital:
name: Berlin
geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:
16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern
(Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania),
Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North
Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland,
Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt),
Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen,
and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten,
singular - Freistaat)

Independence:
18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four
zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945
following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West
Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and
French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany)
proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone;
unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October
1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991

National holiday:
Unity Day, 3 October (1990)

Constitution:
23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united
Germany 3 October 1990

Legal system:
civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)
cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by
the president on the recommendation of the chancellor
elections: president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a
second term) by a Federal Convention, including all members of the
Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the
state parliaments; election last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held
23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the
Federal Assembly for a four-year term; Bundestag election last held
22 November 2005 (next to be held November 2009)
election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604
votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN;
Angela MERKEL elected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 397 to
202 with 12 abstentions

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly
or Bundestag (614 seats; elected by popular vote under a system
combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win
5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain
proportional representation and caucus recogntion; members serve
four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes;
state governments are directly represented by votes; each has three
to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a
block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 18 September 2005 (next to
be held September 2009); note - there are no elections for the
Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the
state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the
potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election
election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party -
CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%; seats by
party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 53, Greens 51, and
independents 2

Judicial branch:
Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the
judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)